Remember Me
by He Who Lurks in Shadow
Summary: I love you, and I always will. And here's hoping that you'll remember me...
1. Link

The small raft rocked gently across the ocean waters. It was a crude raft, hastily made from the wreckage of the ship it had previously been a part of. Luckily enough, the ocean was calm, calmer than it had ever been these past few days. The wind had constantly pushed the raft eastward for a little over a week, so direction was no worry for the man on the raft.

He was dressed all in green, his trademark color. Golden hair fell across his face, half the time obscuring his sapphire blue eyes from view. He had a muscular build, but the way he carried himself never made this obvious, instead giving the impression that he was not very strong at all. He had a sword strapped to an earthen-colored strap connected to his belt but instead of like any normal person, it was strapped to his back, erupting above his left shoulder. His shield, an impressive piece of metalworking, was the only hint at where he came from. The symbol of the Royal Family of Hyrule, a phoenix, wings spread, under three golden triangles, was emblazoned on the front. It hung loosely from his back, ready at a moment's notice to be slid off and put to use. However, with no enemies to be found, it was more decorative than useful.

The man looked up from his place on the raft. He scanned the unfamiliar stars, looking for any that he recognized. He was heading home, but it was still a ways off. He leaned back against the mast, watching the dark water lap against the raft's side. Pulling an Ocarina from the small bag of possessions he had, the man played a few notes, listening to them echo across the water. He played the song once more and waited, yet nothing happened. He silently put the Ocarina in his bag and stared once more at the star-speckled sky, letting his thoughts roam.

_Soon. Soon I shall be home. Home again at last. I've been away for too long. I'm sticking to land for a while. It'll be good to see the faces of my friends again, anyway. The Zoras'll probably be the first of my run-ins. They're decent people, even if they do have a few foul-tempered cousins. Ruto'll probably be the first one there. She still has a crush on me, but I think she's realizing that we can't be together. Taken her long enough._

_And then there'll be Saria I have to pay a visit to. She's trapped in that forest. She's immortal, yes, but she can't go anywhere. It's sad really. I hated leaving her behind when the Deku Tree told me to leave. But she understood better than even I did, I think. It'll be a nice surprise for her._

_Of course, I'll have to say hi to Darunia as well. He and I are Sworn Brothers, after all. I mean, he named his kid after me! I'm going to have to have him explain this 'Sworn Brother' thing to me a bit more fully before I do something to offend him._

_And of course, I can't leave out Malon and Epona. Agreed, Malon and I aren't the best of friends, but we have one big connection - Epona. That seems enough to forge a decent friendship, and we have. Naturally, we have more than a horse in common, but she spends most of her time working around the Ranch, so we don't talk much. That, and she's always waiting around for a 'knight in shining armor' to come and sweep her off her feet. To this day, she won't answer the two questions I wanted answers for. One, why would a knight wear his armor to come and pick her up? Two, if he swept her off her feet, wouldn't she fall? Besides, armor is overrated._

_And then there is Zelda. I'm definitely going to swing by the castle as soon as possible. I haven't seen her in forever, and it's her that I've missed the most while on my venture. I hate to think that I've kept her waiting this long. I still remember her, though. Quite vividly, actually. If I think hard enough, I could probably remember what dress she was wearing that day we met in the courtyard. She always touched just the right chord, because even to this day, I still wish I had had enough sense to stay and be by her side. Even now, in the middle of the ocean, I wish that I had taken her offer..._

The man stood. He removed his sword and shield, placing them in his bag. He flopped back against the raft, looking back up at the ever-present stars that ran across the night sky. His thoughts once again returned to the princess.

_I wonder what she's doing right now? It's around the middle of the night already, so I doubt she's awake. I do hope that she'll at least recognize me. I don't expect her to feel the same way about me as I do about her, though. That's just wishing for the impossible. More than likely, her father's got her to marry some prince of a faraway country and I'm just a kid that she met years ago._

Link sat up and looked at the horizon, of which Hyrule lay just beyond. _I am coming home, Zelda. I love you, and I always will. And here's hoping that you'll remember me..._


	2. Zelda

A woman stood in a large room at the base of a tower. The room was extremely elegant, tapestries and furniture everywhere. She herself wore a white dress with a purple vest-like top that extended down the back, coming to a point. On the front, below the vest-like top, an intricate design was placed, depicting the Royal Family's crest, the Triforce above a fire-red phoenix. She walked over to the window, her golden hair shifting behind her.

_It's been what, four years? Four years, and yet he still hasn't returned. Impa doesn't agree on my decision to wait for him, but it's my choice, so here I wait. I have a feeling that he's close, but how close I'm not sure._

_I told him that he could stay with me, but he kept insisting that he had to train so he could protect Hyrule. I still do not understand why he had to train; I mean Hyrule is pretty calm as it is._

_My father's annoyed to pieces with me. Today marked the fiftieth prince he's paraded in here, trying to find one I'll agree to. I understand that he's just trying to look after me, but I get annoyed at it. I'd love to tell him about Link, but with him missing, it would just make my father mad._

She sighed and looked out at the land that lay before her. Hyrule Field stretched out across the land, providing access to most of the areas. There was the Kokiri Forest, safeguarded by Saria. It bordered Lake Hylia, which linked the Zora Domain to the world. Death Mountain lay to the east, home to the Gorons.

_Link somehow made friends with every single area, save for the Gerudo Fortress, but he even managed to get a membership pass there. He is amazing, for sure. Of course, knowing my luck, he found someone while off adventuring and is smitten with her. He probably barely remembers me, if even that. And if he does, I'm probably just a princess that he saved at some point. He probably hasn't thought of me once since he left, unless he was telling one of his friends an escapade involving an evil man, a magic sword, and a princess in trouble._

_I wish that we could have talked longer. I admit, ever since I laid eyes on that little kid from the Kokiri Forest and his fairy, something clicked. Of course, back then, I was too young to know what I felt, but now that I think about it, he's been at the forefront of my thoughts every day since then. I doubt the same applies to him, though. He didn't seem too interested in me, so maybe when he returns, if he hasn't found someone, I'll try a little harder to get to know him better._

_Before he left, after he returned from his adventure in search of that fairy of his, we had a bit of time to just hang out. We spent an entire day just sitting out on Hyrule Field, talking and playing and laughing. He played that Fairy Ocarina of his and taught me some of the songs he knew. My favorite is that one song, Prelude to Light. I play it every once in a while, to remember him. He says it does something special, but he also says he has to be around for it to work, so I'm not so sure if it really works._

_Every once in a while I hear that song or a similar song, and it reminds me of him. I have no idea where it comes from, but every once in a while, one of his songs echoes around the castle. They always play twice in a row, the same song in a one-two fashion. I'll ask Link when he returns what he knows about that._

_I just can't wait until he returns. I don't care if he doesn't return my feelings or not, but I'm telling him that I love him the second I see him, whenever that will be._

She sighed, looking at the star-speckled sky. _I am waiting, Link. I love you, and I always will. And here's hoping that you'll remember me..._


	3. Together

The man on the raft pulled out his Fairy Ocarina, deciding he would try his song again. Playing a few notes, he heard it echo across the water once again. As per his style, he decided to try once more.

-

The woman looked up suddenly, hearing the haunting melody drift across the land. She pulled out the mystical Ocarina of Time and tried the Prelude of Light herself as the notes echoed across the area once again.

-

He tried the song a second time and knew he had succeeded. He smiled as the yellow lights enveloped him, leaving the raft to drift on its own.

-

As she finished the song, she watched as yellow lights appeared and started to surround her. Confused, she let the lights do their work and she saw the castle room vanish from view.

-

The Temple of Time stood strong even after all these years. Deep in the quiet building, a song erupted all around the Temple. In a flash of yellow light, two figures appeared. They walked to each other, not saying a word. After a moment, when they spoke, they spoke in unison.

"I love you."


End file.
